Following the Celtics’ 61-point first-half outburst, ESPN’s Doris Burke asked Rondo what kinds of holes his team was exploiting against the Heat defense. Replied Rondo: “Them complaining and crying to referees in transition.”

On Monday, when asked if there was any truth to Rondo’s comments, Spoelstra wrote it off.

“I could really care less — couldn’t care less about what another player has to say about our team,” Spoelstra said. “The deeper you get into a competitive series, the more people [say], the more noise there tends to be.”

Spoelstra instead chose to talk about how his players have improved with how they handle themselves when they don’t get calls.

“I think we’ve managed that part of the game better than we have in the past,” Spoelstra said. “I think, particularly in this playoff run, we’ve been able to focus on things that we can control. And that’s not one of them. But if you have been around our team, I think you’ve seen a lot of progress, particularly from last year.”

Try as they might, the national and local media was unsuccessful in the 45 hours since the end of Friday’s Boston’s win over the Heat in Game 3 to draw the Celtics in to comparing last year to this year against LeBron James and company.

“I don’t even remember last year, to be honest with you,” said Paul Pierce when asked about the details of the 4-1 loss to the Heat in the Eastern semifinals last year.

“I don’t, really,” Doc Rivers said when asked if he recalled Boston winning Game 3 in 2011 before losing a heart-breaker in Game 4 in overtime. “I know we lost. I think that’s the game Rondo got injured but I’m not even sure of that. Oh, it was Game 3. I don’t even remember. That tells you what I remember.”

Indeed, the inspired Celtics overcame the dislocation of Rajon Rondo‘s left elbow in a collision with Dwyane Wade in Game 3. They had a great chance to tie the series when Ray Allen drilled a three to put the Celtics up, 84-81, with 2:28 left. But James hit a three of his own 28 seconds later and James hit a jumper to put Miami up, 86-84. Pierce hit a jumper to tie it, 86-86, with 41 seconds left. After a James turnover, the Celtics had the last 19.5 seconds left to win it. They had to settle for a missed fadeaway from Pierce with 0.9 seconds remaining. ‘

In that game, Kevin Garnett had seven points and made just 1-of-10 from the field in 41 minutes. That cannot happen again for the Celtics to win Game 4, something they failed to do in 2011.

“We just want to be consistent in how we play,” Pierce said. “Last year was last year. It’s over with. We don’t want a repeat of that so we just have to be consistent in everything we’re trying to do. We’re going to continue to try and get him the ball, get as many as touches out of him as possible. We know that’s been working for us. So, when Kevin gets it going from the inside, it really opens up things for a lot of us on the perimeter.”

The Celtics would be outscored 12-4 in overtime in the game that would essentially seal Boston’s playoff fate in five games.

“We had opportunities,” Rivers reflected. “Clearly, we had a couple of great shots. I think we had a terrible possession now that I think about it before overtime. Our last possession [of regulation]. Thanks for bringing that up.”

WALTHAM — Marquis Daniels is fully aware that the Celtics bench scored just seven of Boston’s 111 points in Wednesday’s Game 2 loss to the Heat.

Not that they are expected to carry the team but Daniels knows more will be expected in Game 3 at the Garden. And it’s not necessarily the scoring but the energy level off the bench that has to be there. Daniels, Keyon Dooling and Mickael Pietrus are among those who could be vital in assuring Rajon Rondo doesn’t have to play the entire game like he did in Game 2.

“We just have to do what’s needed,” Daniels said at Friday morning’s shootaround. “Rondo obviously had a great game last game. If those guys [starters] continue to play well, we basically have to come in and do what we usually do, get some stops here and there, play good defense and knock down open shots.

Daniels said the team’s focus is right where it needs to be, down 0-2 in the series to the heavily-favored Heat.

“We’re focused,” he said. “We’re going to go out and do what we need to do. We looked at film and got prepared so I think we’ll be ready.”

The focus was evident among most of the Celtics, who left after the shootaround to get their rest. However, Ray Allen stayed behind to work with assistants Ty Lue and Michael Longabardi while Kevin Garnett worked with assistant Jamie Young on mid-range and 3-point shooting, along with free throws.

Normally, both Allen and Garnett leave immediately after the shootaround, which focuses on half-court sets. Friday morning was different.

All Celtics were accounted for and present at Friday’s shootaround.

The Celtics will also look to take advantage of home court, where they’re 6-1 in the playoffs so far.

“It’s going to help a lot,” Daniels said. “Our crowd is going to be into it. It’s going to be a lot more intense. We’re going to come out focused and ready to play.

“Just stay consistent, come out and keep giving the energy where it’s needed, keep giving those guys their breaks and make sure we don’t fall off anywhere,” Daniels said. “We’re a veteran ball club so we don’t let too much get to us. You hate losing, obviously, but we’re going to come in focused and hopefully, we can get this one.”

One game after the officiating was a hot topic of debate for five questionable technical fouls called on the Celtics in their Game 1 loss to the Heat in the Eastern Conference finals, Wednesday’s Game 2 was filled with controversy caused by missed calls and free throw disparities.

The biggest missed call in question occurred in overtime. With under two minutes remaining and the game tied at 105-105, Rajon Rondo drove the lane and went up for a layup, but was knocked in the head by Dwyane Wade.

The referees didn’t blow their whistles and missed the call as Rondo sat on the floor holding his head. The Heat quickly took advantage, converted a dunk on the other end and never looked back as momentum completely swung to their side and they secured the win.

“I don’t know how you miss that one,” ESPN basketball analyst Tim Legler said. “There has to be an official on the baseline. You have a guy driving to the rim, you know that you’re anticipating contact as an official. [When] you get raked across the eye on a layup, it has to be called. It’s that simple. They missed it.”

CBSSports.com NBA blogger Royce Young also chimed in on the play. While he agreed that it was a clear missed call, he was also defensive of the officials.

“Referees miss calls. It happens,” Young wrote. “Nobody wants to hear that and it certainly doesn’t give Boston two points, but in the flow of an NBA game, something that moves really, really fast, sometimes an official doesn’t get it right.

“It’s not like they don’t want to. It’s not like they were thinking, ‘Eh, it’s Wade. Let it go.’ They want to do their job perfectly. It just doesn’t happen.”

Even Brian Windhorst, the Heat beat writer for ESPN.com, was critical of the missed call. He took to Twitter moments after Wade converted on a 3-point play to give the Heat a five-point lead.

“Great play by Wade but I’m feeling a little sick about that missed foul on Rondo. And I’m a staunch defender of officials as followers know,” Windhorst tweeted.

Let’s take a page out of Doc Rivers‘ book and tread lightly on this matter. Two nights after declaring his technical foul — one of five called on the Celtics as a team — “the worst I’ve ever had,” the coach took umbrage with the officiating in their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Heat once again.

“It is what it is,” he said in the aftermath of a stomach-punch, 115-111 overtime loss. “LeBron James took 24 free throws tonight and our team took 29. Paul Pierce fouled out of a game where he was attacking the basket.”

You can’t get fined if you stick with the facts. You can’t come across as blaming the referees if you shoot straight. At least that’s the hope. Here are 15 more facts about the Game 2 officiating. Read the rest of this entry »

It was almost as painful as the bulging disk in his back that caused him to wince at the opening of his press conference. Doc RIvers took to the podium after his Celtics lost a heart-breaker in overtime to try and put perspective on his point guard’s record-setting night.

Rajon Rondo became the first player in the long, illustrious history of the Celtics to score at least 40 points and dish out at least 10 assists in a playoff game but his mood and the mood of the team was tempered after a 115-111 loss to the Heat Wednesday night that put the Celtics in a 2-0 hole in the Eastern Conference finals. Rondo finished with 44 points, 10 assists and was just two rebounds shy of his fourth triple-double of this playoff season.

“He was absolutely phenomenal,” Rivers said. “He put the whole team — at times — on his shoulders. It’s tough for him to play that way and not win the game, honestly, because he did basically everything right. We had a lot of opportunities to win the game.”

Rondo had three steals and just three turnovers, remarkable considering the point guard played all 53 minutes of the epic playoff contest. He became just the eighth player in NBA history to play all 53 minutes of a playoff game. But Rondo maintained that he was not tired in the late stages of the game.

“I felt fine,” Rondo said. “It was a mental grind for me, individually, and for us as a team. Kevin played extra minutes, we all did. There’s no turning back. It’s the conference finals so I wanted to play every minute. I thought I didn’t hurt my team by me playing every minute so I wanted to go out there and continue to do the best for my team.”

“It just happened during the game,” Rivers said of Rondo’s minutes. “You just read it. I don’t start the game saying I’m going to play Rondo the whole game. I just kind of read the situation. He was playing at a pretty good pace so we just rode him.”

Rondo said the Celtics are confident that the home crowd can help them get back in the series. The Celtics enter Friday’s Game 3 with a 6-1 home mark at TD Garden in these playoffs and have lost just twice in their last 21 home games dating back to Feb. 13.

“We have the next two at home,” Rondo said. “We had two tough losses on the road but it’s a seven-game series. We’re playing very well at home as of late. We’re looking forward to it.”

Doc Rivers attempted to hide his frustration with the discrepancy in the fouls Wednesday night as the Celtics fell 115-111 in overtime to the Heat at American Airlines Arena. The Celtics were whistled for 33 fouls while the Heat were called for just 18 in 53 minutes of action.

“It is what it is,” Rivers said. “LeBron James took 24 free throws tonight and our team took 29. Paul Pierce fouled out of a game where he was attacking the basket. It’s just tough. We have to just keep playing. I tell our guys, ‘It doesn’t matter. We can’t get distracted.’ We will not get distracted in this series. I guarantee you, right now, they’re distracted, our team in the locker room but we have to get out of us and move on. Whatever happened, happened. We just have to move on and play the next game.”

Two key plays will stand out to Celtics fans who feel they were robbed of the chance to win Game 2. Pierce was called for his sixth and final foul with 1:05 when Dwyane Wade drove to the basket and turned his back into Pierce. Then, with the game tied, 105-105, and 1:35 left in overtime, replays show Rondo was raked across the face on a drive to the basket by Wade. There was no call as the Heat scored the next seven points to put the game on ice.

“It was obvious, but I really can’t comment about that play in particular. It’s part of the game. That was a big swing for us. I think we had the momentum. There was a lot of controversy out there, and it just didn’t go our way,” Rondo said afterward at the podium next to Ray Allen, who added, “We all thought he got hit, I’ll say it.”

Rivers joked with a reporter who was asking him to comment on the “50-50″ calls that seem to all go against the Celtics in Game 2.

“Can you call it something other than 50-50 calls? Can you come up with another percentage for me?” Rivers said with a smile. “We’re not going to blame [the officials]. We have to play better and we will.”